'I Want To Run For Papa'

A 1st-grader’s love for his grandfather shines through in the kids’ marathon

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...” (Hebrews 12:1-2a)

“Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’ ” (Luke 18:16)

Nathan Jacobs, who will turn 7 on April 23, is excited about his birthday. But he’s also stoked about what will happen two days later, when he runs the last of his 26.2 miles in the YMCA Country Music Kids Marathon as a dedication to his grandfather, “Papa,” who was seriously injured last year and lost the use of his legs.

Nathan, a 1st grader, leads the eight-member “Papa’s Team” that will join 3,100 other boys and girls to complete their final mile on the evening of Friday, April 25.

Papa’s Team is running for Nathan’s grandfather, Jim Childs. On April 4, 2007, Jim fell about 250 feet over a sheer embankment. Before the accident, he was a successful pathologist, director of a lab for 30 years, extremely active in his community and his church. He had biked more than 1,000 miles a year. Now, Jim is a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic, still receiving extensive therapy.

When the gym teacher at Nathan’s school sent out an announcement about the kids’ marathon, Nathan’s mom, Lynn, explained to Nathan what a marathon was. “He was very excited about the idea as he loves to be physically active,” she says. Later, Nathan surprised his mom with these words: “Mom, I want to run for Papa, because he can’t run anymore.” Papa’s Team was born.

Although Jim and his wife of 30+ years, Rose Anne, live near Pittsburgh, Nathan and his Papa “have always had a very special bond,” Lynn says. “We moved to Nashville when my son was two, and up until that point he saw my dad on a daily basis, even accompanying him to work. The accident has been very hard for him; it is extremely hard for him to see Papa in chair. He desperately wants Papa to be able to play with him again. It is very touching to see him and his Papa together now.

“Nathan prays for him every night, ‘Please God, help Papa to walk again.’ ”

Father in Heaven, we join Nathan in praying for his Papa, for your healing, comfort and strength. And we thank you for the inspiring example of this 1st grader who reminds us what it means to love, to hope, to approach You in childlike faith, and to run the race set before us with passion and dedication. Amen.